


Headlines and Deadlines

by pennysparrow



Series: Flower Shop AU [6]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Modern Era, and other people can be frustrating, kath is a great reporter but sometimes even the best need a little bit of help, the kath&jack&crutchie&spot&race snapchat group makes a grand reappearence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 05:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14585661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/pseuds/pennysparrow
Summary: Katherine gets a little help from her friends on her most recent article.Can be read as a stand-alone.





	Headlines and Deadlines

**Author's Note:**

> I got the title idea first and my college newspaper ordered shirts that finally came so I wrote this between essays. Set in my Flower Shop AU but can be read as a stand-alone.

Katherine pillowed her head in arms, slouching onto her desk in utter defeat. In the past hour she called over a dozen of her best sources to no avail. Her article was due the next morning but all of the contacts the paper had in D.C. were staunchly refusing to get back to her with relevant information. She released a dramatic sigh and seriously debated typing up a letter of resignation before Denton could fire her. The only thing keeping her from such a terrible life choice was the disappointed look Darcy would give her, the concern from Sarah, and the utter shock from Jack and the boys.

“Alright, what’s wrong,” an exasperated voice said from above her. Kath knew that Darcy had an obscenely high tolerance for her over-reactions so if he was actually asking her what was wrong then she must be obnoxious.

Moving her arms slightly so that she could peer up at him Katherine frowned. “Daaarccce,” she whined, drawing his name out into one long syllable. “I can’t get my foot in the door with the folks in D.C. Metaphorically speaking since they’re actually just avoiding my questions and now they’ve got both my numbers pegged on caller ID and they’re just not picking up the phone.”

“You’re rambling,” Darcy told her patiently.

Katherine frowned, if she was doing that without realizing then she really was in trouble. “Well shit,” she muttered.

“Relax,” he told her gently, moving to lean against the edge of her desk. “You’re smart and you’ve got more than enough time. Did you try calling anyone who’s down there and on Denton’s list of people who owe him favors? Maybe they could get the details for you?”

Kath groaned and leaned back in her chair to look him in the eye. “Yes. They’re all thoroughly unhelpful and I don’t know why. I could always call my dad but…” she trailed off with a wince. Darcy wrinkled his nose in reply and with a glance they both shuddered.

Katherine buried her head back in her arms and Darcy began playing with her curls. They stayed like this for a few minutes, earning some looks from the other reporters but the occupants of the newsroom had long ago grown used to their close friendship. Soon Darcy’s hand slowed and Kath turned her head to glance at him. His eyes had gone wide and he met her gaze.

“Kath.”

“Darcy.”

“Specs is back in town. He’s still friends with like everyone he ever met, right? I mean, he is that type of guy that everyone just loves,” Darcy raised an eyebrow and Katherine sat up.

“Except for the Delancey brothers-”

“Ok, those guys were dicks,” Darcy interrupted her, and Katherine couldn’t help but laugh.

“I mean, yeah. Nobody liked them and they probably still have no friends.”

“They better not,” Darcy muttered darkly, “cause they so don’t deserve any.”

Kath smirked and poked Darcy’s knee where it rested next to her elbow. He’d moved from leaning to sitting while she wallowed. “You had a train of thought involving Specs before it was so thoroughly and wholly derailed,” she pointed out dryly, Katherine’s eyebrows lifted and her lips quirked to the side.

“Right,” Darcy shifted, crossing his ankles and leaning back on his hands. “So you and Specs have been like super close since freshman year, see if he can contact people and pull some strings.”

“He is freelancing right now, I could talk to Denton and get his name on the byline and a commission for him if he agrees.” Katherine straightened up and Darcy shrugged. “That might actually convince him to agree.”

Darcy slipped off her desk and headed back to his own. “He’ll say yes to you either way. You guys love working together.”

“As opposed to you and I hating working together?” Kath asked him sarcastically. Darcy just shot her a look that made her laugh. She pushed herself out of her chair and playfully knocked over his pile of post-its as she passed on the way to Denton’s office.

Knocking on the doorframe she peeked her head in. Denton glanced up and gave short nod before returning his attention to the screen. Kath took that as her invitation and gingerly settled herself on the chair opposite him as he finished typing. It was the only piece of furniture in the office that wasn’t Denton’s desk or his own chair, and it was so old she constantly feared that it would fall apart beneath her.

“Sorry about that,” Denton said as he turned away from his screen and towards her.

“Nope, you’re good.”

“So what can I help you with, Katherine?”

She carefully shifted to balance on the edge of the chair. “Well, sir, I’ve run into a bit of a dead end with my sources out of Washington,” Katherine admitted.

“Ah, they’re so territorial down there,” Denton said as he shook his head.

Kath nodded before continuing. “You see, I have a friend who worked down there for a while just out of college and he’s in town freelancing right now. With your permission I’d like to ask for his help on this. He’s got all sorts of contacts and is the type nobody can say no to.”

“Well if he says yes then I’m happy to add his name to the byline. And I’m sure I could get HR to send him a paycheck if it’ll sweeten the deal?” Denton turned to his computer, likely already pulling up his email.

“It definitely can’t hurt,” Kath smiled and rose to her feet. “Thank you, I’ll go give him a call now.”

She turned to leave but Denton stopped her. “Plumber, will you still be able to meet your deadline? Because I need to know if I’ve got to pull another piece or change the layout.”

“I haven’t missed a deadline yet,” she replied proudly. Denton nodded and Katherine hurried out of the office.

She flopped into her chair, sending it rolling slightly, pulling out her phone from where she kept it in her desk drawer. Katherine ignored the multitude of notifications from snapchat – Jack and Spot were working on a new show and they kept spamming the group with pictures of their set pieces and bad candids of each other. Instead, she pulled up her contacts and scrolled through to Specs, hitting call and crossing her fingers that he picked up.

“I’m getting called by _the_ Katherine Plumber?” Specs said as a greeting.

Katherine grinned and Darcy shot her a thumbs up. “Why yes you are!” She sing-songed, laughing at herself.

On his end Specs laughed as well. “You sound like Galinda.”

“You wanna see Wicked again while you’re in town? Is that what you’re hinting? Because that’s a Jack and Spot favor, not a Kath favor,” she teased him.

“I mean, I love Wicked soo…” Kath could hear Specs smirking and she rolled her eyes.

“Well, I do need your help so maybe that can be arranged.” Kath grimaced, waiting for what he might say next.

“Kath, I’d help you whether there were Wicked tickets on the table or not,” Specs said. She could hear the smile in his voice and she relaxed.

“Well there’s definitely the possibility of a paycheck,” Katherine worried at her lower lip.

“What’s the job?” Specs asked seriously. She knew this shift in tone meant that he was willing to help and wanted more details.

Kath explained her article to him and the impasse that she was at with the reporters and sources in D.C. She went on to describe what it is she would need his help with, mainly reaching out to people he knew. Specs agreed eagerly and had said he was already on his way to _The Sun_ ’s offices to meet with her and start making calls. By the time they hung up it was because Specs was heading down into the subway and would be losing cell reception.

Darcy grinned at her when she hung up. He was on his own call with a lead and was scribbling something frantically into his notebook. She decided to check her snapchats while she waited for Specs.

It was indeed mostly bad candids and set pieces from Jack and Spot. Race had sent some crazy complicated looking formula followed by a selfie of him making a dumb face and a caption about how physics was failing him; immediately followed by another with a different, terrified looking face and something about how he’d rather the math than writing the grant proposals. Crutchie sent them pictures of the shop cat at the bookstore he was the manager of. Katherine liked those the most, the shop was a well-known pro-LGBT bookstore and their store cat was always boasting the most amazing rainbow bow ties.

Darcy hung up and started putting his laptop and other miscellaneous supplies into his bag. “I’ve gotta meet with a source. I’ll see you? Tell Specs I said hi.”

“You can tell me hi yourself,” Specs said, appearing with a grin.

“Hi Specs, bye Specs. Bye Kath,” Darcy chuckled and then he was gone.

Katherine laughed and jumped to her feet, moving around her desk to give Specs a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said as she threw her arms around his neck.

“Of course,” Specs replied, squeezing her tightly back. They released each other, and Kath moved to steal Darcy’s chair from his now empty desk and tug it over to her own. The two settled in an Kath set about showing Specs her notes. He immediately pulled out his phone and began to scroll through his contacts, scrawling names next to various bits in her notebook.

Once he was on the same page as her he began making calls. Katherine smiled, Specs always started off with a jovial greeting and pleasant chit-chat, asking about families and fantasy league standings, before going into the same spiel. “So a friend from college called me in to work on an article and I was hoping you’d be able to help me out. Oh? Really? Awesome, thank you so much! So what I need is…” And every time without fail Specs would turn to her and grin, gesturing that she pass him a pen and paper as he quickly began taking notes.

Everyone else was going home by the time that Specs was calling up his last lead. Darcy had texted Kath about ten minutes before saying he wouldn’t be coming back to the office today and Crutchie had texted her a few minutes after that inviting her to eat dinner with him and Jack. She was typing out an apology knowing that she was going to writing late into the night to meet her deadline when Specs wrapped up his call.

Katherine looked up as he set his phone onto her desk. “You got a spare charger by any chance?” He asked when he say how low his battery had gotten. Wordlessly Katherine passed him hers and Specs grinned. “Thanks Kath. Well that’s all your questions answered.”

“You sir are a life saver!” She crushed Specs in a tight hug, knocking the thick glasses that had earned him his nickname askew in the processes.

“Well don’t hug me yet, you’ve still gotta write the thing,” he chuckled.

Katherine glanced at the clock on the wall as her stomach growled. Her gaze fell back to the half-typed text and turned to him with a smile. “Well I can write anywhere, want to get dinner at Kelly Morris’s? AKA the best free food in town unless you want Italian but Crutchie invited me for dinner, not Race.”

Specs smirked and began packing up. “I will never turn down the opportunity to mooch off of Jack Kelly. And Crutchie makes the best cookies in the city.”

She quickly deleted the text and told the boys that she’d be there and was brining Specs with.

After great meal filled with laughter and light-hearted teasing Kath settled herself on Jack and Crutchie’s couch. Specs perched on the arm next to her, peering over her shoulder at her laptop. They’d pulled the coffee table closer and spread all their notes out. Crutchie grabbed his own laptop and set to work editing his latest YouTube video while Jack wandered back and forth from his room to the kitchen, paintbrushes and mugs in hand. As Kath wrote Specs would interject, rewording something or wanting her to add a sentence or comma. They had done this on their editorials in college and it was easy for them to fall back into the familiar rhythm.

After a while Crutchie got up and kissed Kath on the top of her curls as he passed before patting Specs on the back and disappearing into his room for the night. Soon even Jack’s steady back and forth from whatever he was working on to the sink were slowing. Kath and Specs felt like they were about two thirds of the way done when Jack paused on his way past them.

“Hey guys, I know you’re in the middle of something but I’m headed to bed. You’re more than welcome to stay here ‘til you’re done and you can crash on the couch if you want though. If not, just turn the lights out and lock the door on your way out,” Jack smiled and Kath blew him a kiss while Specs told him thanks before they both returned their attention to the article.

It was well past two in the morning by the time Kath passed the laptop to Specs for him to give it a final readthrough before she did the same. “It’s good Kath,” he murmured as he passed it back. She just hummed as she read, finally nodding and hitting the submit button on the post. With a sigh Katherine closed her laptop and set it down on the couch beside her.

Specs slipped off the arm of the couch and stretched. Katherine stood and groaned. They piled the papers and shoved them in her bag. “Denton will be taking a look at it in the morning and he already said he’d give you space on the byline.”

“That’s not necessary,” Specs said as they moved towards the door.

“It’s like two-thirty and we haven’t left a couch that isn’t even ours all night. You earned the byline,” Kath grumbled.

“So it’s college all over again,” Specs smirked and shrugged. Kath lightly shoved her shoulder into his as they left the apartment building. “You want to split the cab?” He asked as he flagged one down.

“Aren’t you staying with Romeo over in Queens?”

“So? Your apartment is between here and there.”

Katherine frowned but at his stubborn look climbed into the cab and said her address, scooting over so that Specs could crawl in after her. She passed him a twenty before she got out again, more than enough to cover her ride, closing the door quickly before he could protest.

By the time Katherine had showered and flopped into bed Specs had sent her a text letting her know he’d gotten home. She sent him a thumbs up before texting Sarah a goodnight message.

Her alarmed blarred far too soon for Katherine’s taste as she reluctantly pulled herself from the pile of blankets and staggered to her closet. She walked into _The Sun_ ’s office holding the biggest cup of coffee she could convince the barista to give her with her sunglasses covering the dark circles under her eyes. She’d barely made it to her desk before Denton was shouting “Plumber!”

Darcy sent her a sympathetic smile as she dumped everything onto her desk before heading straight to her editor’s office. “You wanted to see me?”

He smiled when he noticed her standing in the door. “Just wanted to say good job, your friend really came through. HR wants his phone number to pay him and I’d like to see about making him a permeant fixture around here.”

Katherine smiled, slipping her phone out of her pocket. “I can give you his contact info but he likes being freelance right now, you’re going to have to make a really nice offer.”

Denton frowned as he thought and Kath leaned against his doorframe, her exhaustion making her want to fall over. “I think that Entertainment has some spare Wicked tickets?”

Kath began laughing so hard she almost fell over. Denton raised an eyebrow as she straightened up and caught her breath. “Those might just work.”


End file.
